Circuit-controller



G. W. WACKER.

cmcun CONTROLLER FOR PORTABLE ELECTRIC LIGHTS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY25| I918.

Patented SeptfS), 1919.

anvenfoz $151 flltoihevwr Tun cnLuMnn vL/mnmnunl up, WASHINGTON, M C.

seer MAM-lets UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE W. WACKER, OF RUTHERFORD, NE'l/V JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO NATIONAL CARBON COMPANY, INC., OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

CIRCUIT-CONTROLLER FOR PORTABLE ELECTRIC LIGHTS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 9, 1919.

Application filed May 25, 1918. Serial No. 236,455.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Gnonon IV. lVAonEn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Rutherford, county of Bergen, State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cirouit- Controllers for Portable Electric Lights, of which the following is a specification, referen ce being had therein to the accompanying drawings, forming part thereof.

My invention relates to circuit controllers for portable electric lights and relates more particularly to that type or kind of circuit controller in which a slidable circuit-controlling contact member at the inside of a battery-containing and lamp-carrying casing is connected to and directly operated by a manually operable slide at the outside of said casing. The main object of my invention is to provide for locking the circuitcontrolling parts against accidental circuit controlling movement, and particularly to provide a construction in which the circni controlling parts may be locked at the opei circuit position, for thereby preventing acci dental closing of the circuit of the batter; through the lamp. Othe incidental or gen eral objects of my invention are simplicity of construction, inexpensiveness of manufac ture, durability, dependability, reliability and other objects and advantages which will hereinafter appear.

My invention includes a circuit-control ling slide adapted to have sliding circuitcontrolling movement and to have pivotal locking movement for thereby looking it against sliding movement. My invention further includes features of construction and combinations of parts, as will appear from the following description.

I shall now describe the portable electric light embodying the circuit controller of my invention illustrated in the accompany ing drawings and shall thereafter point out my invention in claims.

Figure 1 is a central longitudinal section, with parts in elevation, of a tubular portable electric light of the miners type embodying my invention, with the circuit in the closed condition. i r

Fig. 2 is a similar view, with parts omitted, with the circuit in the open condition, but adapted to be closed by forward pres sure upon the manually operable slide.

Fig. 3 is a similar view with the manually operable slide rotatively reversed and thereby locked at the open circuit position thereof. Fig. d is a partial longitudinal section on a plane indicated by the horizontal line l l of Fig. 3 as viewed from above.

. Fig. 5 is a transverse section on a plane lndicated by the vertical line 5-5 of Fig. 3

as viewed from the left, and in broken lines indicates the rotative or angular movement of the circuit-controlling slide.

Fig. 6 is an inverted perspective view of the circuit-controlling slide and of the pivotal attaching stud carried thereby and shown as formed in one piece therewith.

My invention comprises a manually operable pivoted circuitcontrolling slide 1 provided at its middle with a pivot stud 2 shown as formed in the same piece therewith and having a reduced tubular outer end part 3. At its inner side, from which the pivot stud 2 projects, the elongated manually operable pivoted circuit controlling slide 1 is provided, adjacent to one end there of, with a longitudinally extending guiding recess or slot 4:, and is provided adjacent to the other end thereof'with a smaller locking recess 5, these recesses f and .3 being shown as transversely rounded on curved lines and as provided at their ends with abrupt shoulders, as clearly appears in the several figures of the drawings. 7

The pivot stud 2 extends through and is guided in a slot 6 provided longitudinally in a metallic tubular casing part 7 which forms the principal part of a battery-containing and lamp-carrying casing. A longitudinally slidable circuit-controlling contact strip 8 extends longitudinally within the casing tube 7 in contact with the inner surface thereof and has a forward contact-making free end 9 shown as extending angularly inward. At its rear end the contact strip 8 is provided with a pair of lateral projections 10, and forward from these lateral projections 10 in spaced relation thereto the contact strip 8 is further provided with a second pair of similar lateral projections 11, each of these pairs of lateral projections 10 and 11 being bent on a curve transversely to the contact strip 8 and substantially conforming to but on a somewhat larger are of circular curve than the transverse circular curve of the inner Wtl,l of the tubular casing part 7, so that llll inner surface of the tubular casing part T, the middle parts of the contact strip 8 be tween these ends will be slightly spaced inward from the adjacent inner surface of the casing wall, as is shown in the drawings. Longitudinally of the ontact strip 8, between the spaced pairs of lateral projections 10 and 11, this contact strip is provided with an inwardly oltset part 12 which is further spaced inward from the adjacent inner surface of the casing tube 7, as is clearly shown in the drawin s. The reduced tubular inner end 3 of the pivot stud 2 of the pivoted circuit-controlling slide 1 passes through the center of this inwardly oitset part 12 ot' the contact strip 8 and is upset or riveted at the iner side thereof to form a retaining head 13, as shown in 1, 2- and 3 of the drawings.

The tubular casing part T, upon the outer side thereof, is provided with a combined guiding and locking projection 11 which is shown as punched out from the material of the sheet metal casing part T. This projection 111* is shown as located just. forward of the guide slot 6 and as being rounded or having sloping sides but as having abrupt abutnient-toianing shoulders at the trout and rear thereof. as appears in the drawings. This projection 11 ot the correct size and shape for snugly fitting in the locking recess 5, provided as hereinbetore described in one end of the manually operable pivoted circuit-controlling slide 1 and as i shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings. This projection 11 is also adapted to enter the elongated guiding recess 1 provided. as hereinbctore described, in the other end of the slide 1 from the lock ing recess 5 and as is shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings.

The resilient inwardly spaced .otfset part 12 together with the resilient lateral projcctions and 11 ot the contact strip 8 provide for the outward yielding of the manually operable pivoted circuitcontrollingslide 1 to a sulticient extent that either the elongated guiding recess 4: therein or the locking recess 5 may be engaged with the pro ection 11 as may be desired, merely by rotatively reversing the position of the pivoted slide 1, as will be clear by comparing Figs. 1 and 2 ot the drawings with Figs. 3 and 5 thereof. hen the projection 1-1 is in engagement with the elongated guiding reeess 4;, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, then the slide 1 may be freely bodily moved longitudinally from the open circuit position thereof appearing in Fig. 2 to the closed circuit position thereof appearing in Fig. 1; and thence. o-t course, this slide 1 may be freely moved again to the open circuit position of Fig. 2, as will be readily understood. However, when the elongated manually operable pivoted circuit-controlling slide 1 is rotatively reversed in position when at the rear or open circuit. position shown in Fig. 2, the projection 11 becomes engaged in the locking recess 5, as shown in Figs. 3 and This engagement of the projection 14; in the locking recess 5 positively prevents the forward movement of the slide 1 and consequently oil? the slidable circuit-cont rolling contact strip S from the rear or open circuit position thereof shown in Q and 3 to the. forward and closed circuit position thereof shown in Fig. 1, and thereby provides an ettective safeguard against accidental closure of the circuit, which otherwise might result from the contact of extraneous objects with the circiiit-controlling slide .1, and which, for example, would be particularly liable to 00 our by placing the portable electric light in a tool box or the like with such other objects or articles as may be carried therein.

The remaining parts of the portable electric light embodying my invention may be of any suitable construction and that shown in the drawings and now to be briefly described is of a usual construction which is shown and described in the patent to Conrad Hubert tor portable electric light, No. 1157,1395, of October 19, 1915. In this construction the metallic casing tube 7 is pro vided at its rear end with an end cap 15 shown as screwed over an end ring 16 fixed upon the rear end of the casing tube 7, and at the inside the metallic end cap 15 carries ausual coiled thrust spring 17 which press. upon and makes electrical contact with the zinc teri'ninal 18 of a usual dry battery 19 which is contained within the casing tube T.

At its other or forward end the casing tube '7 has fixed thereon a. flaring or hellshaped casing part 20 over the enlarged outer end of which screws a ring 21 which carries an end glass shown as a usual lens 22, and which also together with the lens holds in place a bowl-shaped metallic reflector The reflector 23 carries a screwthreaded metallic lamp socket 2% which is insulated therefrom by means 0t an, interposed insulating ring 25 and an insulating disk 26 inward from which there is provided a contact disk :27, the metallic lamp socket being flanged over upon the insulating ring 25 at the outside and upon the contact disk 27 at the inside, as is clearly shown in Fig. 1. This construction of insulated. lamp socket is the subject of and is covered by the above mentioned patent to Conrad Hubert. A usual n'iiniature incandescein electric lamp has a bulb 28 exposed outwardly from the reflector a metallic screw-threaded terminal-forming base 29 screwed into the metallic insulated lamp socket 21, and a central contact terminsn 3U exposed within the casing in position to be engaged by the carbon terminal 31 of the battery 19, as shown in Fig. 1.

The marginal part of the contact disk 27 is AVMLABLE COPY located in position to be engaged by theini wardly-turned contact-making end 9 of the contact strip 8 in the forward or circuit-clos ing position of the latter, as shown in Fig. 1, with themanually operable slidel in the forward position. When the slide 1 and contact strip 8 are retracted to their rear ward position, appearing. in Figs. 2 and 3, then the contact-making end 9 of the contact strip 8 will be separated from the contact disk 27, thereby to open the circuit of the battery 19 through the lamp, as will be readily understood.

It is obvious that various modifications may be made in the -construction shown in the drawings and above particularly described within the principle and scope of my invention.

I claim:

1. A circuit controller for a portable electric light having, in combination, circuitcompleting means including a slidable contact member, and a circuit-controlling member mounted for both sliding and rotative movement and connected to the slidable contact member to slide the latter to or from the circuit-closing position, and means combined with such circuitcontrolling member adapting it by a rotative movement at its open circuit position to be locked against slidable circuit-closing movement.

2. A circuit controller for a portable electric light having, in combination, a casing part, a slidable circuit-control]ing contact member at the inside of said casing part, a manually operable circuit-controlling slide at the outside of said casing part and connected to the said slidable circuit-controlling contact member for operating the latter, said manually operable slide also being mounted for pivotal rotative movement, and interengaging means between said manually operable slide and said casing part for locl ing said slide against slidable circuit-coir trolling movement at one of the rotative positions of said slide.

3. A circuit controller for a portable elec tric light having, in combination, a casing part, a slidable circuit-controlling contact member at the inside of said casing part, a manually operable circuit-controlling slide at the outside of said casing part and connected to the said slidable circuit-controlling contact member for operating the latter, said manually operable slide also being mounted for pivotal rotative movement, and interengaging means between said manually operable circuit-controlling slide and said casing part for locking said slide at the open circuit position in one of the rotative positions thereof.

4. A circuit controller for a portable electric light having, in combination, a casing part, a slidable circuit-controlling contact member at the inside of said casing part, a manually operable circuitcontrolling slidable part at the outside of said casing part, said casing part having a guide slot therein,

a pivot stud connectin said manually operable slidable part at the outside of said casing part with saidslidable circuit-controlling contact member at the inside of said casing part through said guide slot so that said manually operable slidable part is adapted to have circuit-controlling sliding movement and also to have rotative movement on said stud as a pivot, and interengaging means between said manually operable slidable part and said casing part for locking said slidable part against circuit-controlling sliding movement in one of the rotative positions thereof.

5. The invention claimed in claim 4: in which said interengaging locking means comprise a locking projection on one of said parts and a recess in the other said part for receiving said projection, said projection and said recess being provided with abrupt abutting shoulders for preventing sliding circuit-controlling movement of said mannally operable slidable part.

G. The invention claimed in claim a in which said interengaging locking means comprise a locking projection on one of said parts and a recess in the other said part "for receiving said projection, said recess and projection being provided with abutting locking shoulders for preventing sliding cir cuit-controlling movement of said slidable part, and being also provided with inclined engaging surfaces adapted to permit rotative movement of said slidable part, in combination with resilient means for pressing said projection and recess into yielding engagement.

7. A circuit controller for a portable electric light having, in combination, a casing part, a slidable circuit-controlling contact member at the inside of said casing part, a manually operable circuit-controlling slide at the outside of said casing part, said casing part having a guide slot therein, a pivot stud connecting said manually operable slide at the outside of said casing part with said slidable circuit-controlling contact member at the inside of said casing part through said guide slot so that said manually operable slide is adapted to have circuit-controlling sliding movement and also to have rotative movement on said stud as a pivot, and interengaging means on said casing part and said manually operable slide for permitting slidable circuit-controlling movement of said slide and for locking said slide against sliding circuit-controlling movement, dependent upon the angular position of said slide.

8. The invention claimed in claim 2 in which said slidable circuit-controlling contact meinher comprises a spring for holding said interengaging slide-locking means in engagement.

9. The invention claimed in claim 7 in which said slidable circuit-controlling contact member comprises a spring for holding said interengaging slide-locking means in engagement.

10. A circuit controller for a portable electric light having, in combination, a tubular easing, a metalli contact strip positioned to slide in contact with the inner surface of said casing and having a contact-making forward end and having a part thereof spaced from the inner surface of said casing to form a spring, a guide slot being provided longitudinally in said casing adjacent to the spring-forming part of said contact strip, an elongated manually operable circuit-controlling slide at the outside of said casing, a pivot stud connecting said elongated slide at a middle point thereof to said springforming part of said contact strip through said guide slot, said elongated slide having at one end thereof adjacent to the outer surface of said casing, an elongated guiding slot and having at the other end thereof adjacent to the outer surface of said rising an ahntment-iorming locking recess, and a combined locking and guiding projection on the outer side of said casing cooperative with said guide slot in the slide for permitting slidable circuit-controlling movement of said manually operable slide in one of the positions of rotative adjustment of said slide and engageable in said locking recess to lock said slide against longitudinal sliding circuit-control]ing movement in the reversed rotative position of said slide, said spring formed by said contact strip being adapted to yield to permit such rotative adjustment of said manually operable slide.

11. A circuit controller ior-a portable electric light having, in combination, a pivoted circuit-controlling slide, and means operative upon rotative movement of said slide for locking it against circuit-controlling movement.

12. A circuit controller for a portable electric light having, in combination, a pivoted circuit-controlling slide slidable between an open circuit and a closed circuit position, and means operative through the rotative movement of said slide on its pivot for locking said slide at its open circuit position.

In testimony whereof I have allixed my signature to this specification.

GEORGE W. WACKER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

